The popularity of gaming has led, and continues to lead, to legalized gaming in more and more jurisdictions throughout the world. Certainly, legalized gaming has proliferated within the United States as a means for local governments to generate the revenue required to provide public services. Along with the increased gaming popularity has come the need for new and improved games of chance to keep the gaming public enamored. Over the course of the previous five to ten years electronic gaming machines, namely slot machines and video poker machines, have surpassed table games in both popularity and ability to generate revenue. Thus, the need for table games is especially warranted to attract those players unwilling to play electronic gaming machines.
The most popular table game in the history of casinos has been blackjack. The popularity of blackjack is a function of many features including, but not limited to, the speed of play, the simplicity of play, the small house edge, the known strategies for minimizing the house edge and the comradery of the players at the table setting.
Accordingly, blackjack is a game played with one or more standard decks of playing cards and is played against the dealer (i.e. the house). The dealer first deals each wagering player and himself or herself two cards. The players' cards are typically both face down and the dealer's two cards are dealt one face up and one face down. The object of the game is for the players to beat the value of the dealer's hand without going over a total card value of twenty-one. Once the initial two cards are dealt, the dealer engages the first player to the dealer's left and the player must hit, stand, split or double down. A hit results in the player taking one or more additional cards while stand indicates the player is satisfied with the total value of the two cards originally dealt. By hitting, the first player may take as many cards as desired until the total card value is satisfactory or the value of the cards exceeds twenty-one whereby the player busts and loses. If they have the same rank, the player may also split the two cards into two hands or may double down by placing a second wager equivalent to an original wager in exchange for taking a single additional card only. The dealer engages each player in clockwise fashion until each player has decided to hit, stand, split or double down. The dealer then reveals his or her face down card and plays according to preestablished casino rules. Although the casino rules can vary, generally, the dealer must hit any hand having a value of sixteen or less and stand on any hand seventeen or higher. Once the dealer completes his or her hand, the dealer compares his or her hand to each player's hand and resolves the wagers. Players are typically paid even money on winning wagers. However, should a player receive a two card hand having a value of twenty-one, known as blackjack, the player is typically paid three to two on the wager. Subtle rule differences exist between casinos but the basic underlying rules are as set forth above. As the various rule differences are known to those skilled in the art, they are not described in detail herein.
Most blackjack players understand a basic strategy associated with playing blackjack. The basic strategy focuses on the dealer's face up card and the assumption that the dealer's face down card has a value of ten. Therefore, if the dealer has a ten showing, the basic strategy dictates that the dealer has a hand valued at twenty. Players will then hit until they achieve a hand having a value of seventeen or higher to optimize their opportunity to win. Unfortunately, players holding hands valued at twelve through sixteen when the dealer has a high card (e.g. seven through ace) showing have a high risk of busting and losing. Frustration is common for players routinely receiving in-between valued hands while the dealer seemingly shows a high valued card each dealt hand. The only possible remedy available currently to the players is the option of surrendering. Surrendering allows a player to surrender his or her hand by forfeiting one-half of their original wager. Players surrender, if at all, when the dealer is showing a card having a value of nine, ten or ace and the player has a two-card hand valued at fifteen or sixteen. Unfortunately, the surrender option is often a poor play and affords the house a tremendous advantage.
Therefore, a more attractive player option continues to be missing from current forms of blackjack. U.S. patents disclose and claim blackjack variations of multiple types, including side wagers, bonus wagers and the option of playing multiple hands using one of the initially dealt two cards. However, to date, there is no option that provides players with the opportunity to improve the value of their dealt cards.
Accordingly, the embodiments of the present invention provide players with the opportunity to improve the quality of the players hand once the player has seen the hand and the dealer's face up card has been revealed.